DOE CSGF 2014-2015 application is online

[bananaphone]

Hey All!  The DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (CSGF) application is finally online here.  Anyone here applying (or thinking about applying)?  I'm a fellow of this awesome program and would be happy to offer advice or answer questions you may have.  There's also some advice on this fellowship in the

[ionuon]

Thank you so much for doing this!

I have a question about the essays. I'm already a first year grad student, with research lined up for next semester, but I don't have a formal project proposal yet (my PI and I have only discussed the project informally, so far). I notice that the essays don't seem to require one anyway...am I interpreting that correctly? Is it fine to talk generally about a subfield of research you're interested in - and how it intertwines with computational science - without getting into the nitty gritty of a specific project?

 

(In case the essays are different every application cycle, here they are for this year:

 

1. Please describe how you expect that the courses listed in your planned program of study will contribute to your own research and will promote the development of a strong interdisciplinary background in computational science.

 

2. In your area of interest, what new science or engineering could be catalyzed by high performance computing and the new methodologies it enables? Why do you think this is the case? What are the HPC challenges that need to be addressed to make this advancement?

 

3. Please discuss the experiences that have motivated you to pursue both computational science and your field of interest.)

[DSYIII]

I have a question regarding the POS. In the guidelines for the POS, it states that you may not complete more than 1/3 (including only 1 class from each area) of your POS courses before the start of the fellowship. Does this mean 'by the time you apply' or does it really mean 'during your first year of graduate school', if you are applying as a grad student? For those of us in Science/Engineering Ph.D. programs, it seems odd that we would have to take 2 more Sci/Eng courses in addition to a potentially large number required/suggested of us in our first year.

[bananaphone]

Thank you so much for doing this!

I have a question about the essays. I'm already a first year grad student, with research lined up for next semester, but I don't have a formal project proposal yet (my PI and I have only discussed the project informally, so far). I notice that the essays don't seem to require one anyway...am I interpreting that correctly? Is it fine to talk generally about a subfield of research you're interested in - and how it intertwines with computational science - without getting into the nitty gritty of a specific project?

 

(In case the essays are different every application cycle, here they are for this year:

 

1. Please describe how you expect that the courses listed in your planned program of study will contribute to your own research and will promote the development of a strong interdisciplinary background in computational science.

 

2. In your area of interest, what new science or engineering could be catalyzed by high performance computing and the new methodologies it enables? Why do you think this is the case? What are the HPC challenges that need to be addressed to make this advancement?

 

3. Please discuss the experiences that have motivated you to pursue both computational science and your field of interest.)

 

I also applied during my first year of graduate school.  I just wrote about the project that I thought I was going to focus on even though I hadn't been formally proposed it at the time.  Personally, I think it's important to be able to identify specific issues/problems that computational science could advance.  You don't have to get into the nitty gritty details but do go into some specifics beyond your general subfield.  An example could be in machine learning (not my field), the algorithms for deep learning/neural nets have been around since the late 80s but it wasn't really that useful because they were too computationally expensive to be practical.  However, deep learning is all the rage nowadays because GPUs, among other things, have made the problem computationally tractable.  So the essays could discuss how these computing advances would allow you to study problems that were previously deemed too expensive.  This is essentially the approach I took in my essays, just applied to my field/research problem.

 

As an aside, an issue in computational science is that we've got a ton of computing resources but there are a lot of fields that don't utilize it.  The DOE would love to see new applications or questions tackled with their vast computing resources.

 

 

I have a question regarding the POS. In the guidelines for the POS, it states that you may not complete more than 1/3 (including only 1 class from each area) of your POS courses before the start of the fellowship. Does this mean 'by the time you apply' or does it really mean 'during your first year of graduate school', if you are applying as a grad student? For those of us in Science/Engineering Ph.D. programs, it seems odd that we would have to take 2 more Sci/Eng courses in addition to a potentially large number required/suggested of us in our first year.

 

Does it?  You should probably ask Krell about that one.  Personally, I completed all my Sci/Eng requirements before I applied and completed my Math requirements before starting the fellowship - I applied during my first year.

[DSYIII]

I also applied during my first year of graduate school.  I just wrote about the project that I thought I was going to focus on even though I hadn't been formally proposed it at the time.  Personally, I think it's important to be able to identify specific issues/problems that computational science could advance.  You don't have to get into the nitty gritty details but do go into some specifics beyond your general subfield.  An example could be in machine learning (not my field), the algorithms for deep learning/neural nets have been around since the late 80s but it wasn't really that useful because they were too computationally expensive to be practical.  However, deep learning is all the rage nowadays because GPUs, among other things, have made the problem computationally tractable.  So the essays could discuss how these computing advances would allow you to study problems that were previously deemed too expensive.  This is essentially the approach I took in my essays, just applied to my field/research problem.

 

As an aside, an issue in computational science is that we've got a ton of computing resources but there are a lot of fields that don't utilize it.  The DOE would love to see new applications or questions tackled with their vast computing resources.

 

 

 

Does it?  You should probably ask Krell about that one.  Personally, I completed all my Sci/Eng requirements before I applied and completed my Math requirements before starting the fellowship - I applied during my first year.

I contacted them, and they said that the 1-course-per-section before starting the fellowship applies, and that I should put 3 of the 4 Sci/Eng courses already taken into "Other Courses". Seems a bit odd, and maybe not something that they would enforce if I got the fellowship, but there it is.

[marty3]

DSYIII, can you post a link to the page that says this thing about taking at most 1/3 of courses before starting the fellowship? I can't find it anywhere on the website. It seems silly, because within the application they state:

• The POS may contain courses already taken, but cannot include courses taken prior to the academic year coincident with the time of application.

Provided courses are taken within the year you apply I think it should be valid, based on this sentence at least.

[marty3]

Ahh, I see it now. It's in the FAQ. Strange how they state this only in the FAQ and nowhere else....

[DSYIII]

Ahh, I see it now. It's in the FAQ. Strange how they state this only in the FAQ and nowhere else....

Yeah, for something seemingly so significant they certainly hid it well.

[Argon]

Just stopping by and saying hello! I applied too That was an interesting app for a senior undergrad...

[troopiedoop]

Just stopping by and saying hello! I applied too That was an interesting app for a senior undergrad...

 

I thought so too, but in hindsight (which is always 20/20), it brought a lot into focus of what kinds of science they are interested in.

 

I won it in my senior year of undergrad, and I would say that I had about 0% confidence that I would win because the prompts are so specific for someone just getting into research. My advice would be to think very hard about the program of study and how that fits with research -- that has to be absolutely key to how they evaluate you because it was the only thing I can think of that set me apart.